Tragic Details About Shannen Doherty

The following article mentions domestic abuse and substance abuse. 

Shannen Doherty may have been one of the most controversial TV stars of the 1990's but there's much more to her than just being the person everyone used to love to hate. For one, Doherty has had a successful run in Hollywood, considering that she began her career way back in 1982 as a child star. The Memphis, Tennessee native got her first recurring role on the show "Little House on the Prairie," before the teen sensation "Beverly Hills, 90210" launched her into fame years later when she was 19. After that, it was her starring role in the hit TV series, "Charmed" from 1998 to 2001 that was another pivotal point in her career, despite the more than 80 other credits on her long resume.

While it's clear Doherty has the talent to last this long in the entertainment industry, it was apparently her reputation for being a bad girl that made her more famous. That's because back in the early days of her career she frequently made headlines for her hard-partying, on-set feuds, rocky romances, and occasional bad attitude, which these days doesn't necessarily seem fair. Doherty even told Parade, "The irony is that, if I was doing the same stuff now, I wouldn't be getting the attention."

Regardless, Doherty said she's learned from everything she's gone through, which has made her into the woman she is today. However, she's had to overcome more than her fair share of hardships in life. So let's break down those tragic details about Shannen Doherty.

The 1990s were clearly a challenging time for Shannen Doherty for a variety of reasons and in 1993 one of them was because she was in a toxic relationship. At age 21, the "Our House" star was briefly engaged to Dean Jay Factor, the heir to the makeup brand Max Factor. Their romance ended in disaster though since, per People, Factor took out a restraining order against Doherty. In court documents, he not only alleged that she threatened him with a gun, but before that had tried to run him over with her car and had thrown a log through his home window.

Doherty called the allegations that she was a violent person untrue, while her father claimed that it was Doherty who had been the one physically abused by Factor. "He initiated the charge, but she's the victim," he said, adding how he believes a black eye she came home with after a trip with Factor was from him hitting her. Factor denied it before the two came to a legal agreement. However, the damage to Doherty's reputation was done, with her making headlines for being "Out of Control." 

While Doherty never addressed a personal experience with domestic violence, she did later work with a charity that helps survivors. In 2010, she hosted the Annual Artists Against Abuse Gala. She told Broadway World, "It is an honor to support a charity that offers preventions and counseling to women ... and try to end domestic abuse."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

It's one thing to be a Hollywood bad girl but it's a whole other thing to actually get in trouble with the law, which is what happened to Shannen Doherty on more than one occasion. It appears that all started in 1993, when a then-21-year-old Doherty was cited for misdemeanor battery after allegedly fighting with another actor at a nightclub. Later in 1996, Doherty was arrested for vandalism after she was accused of throwing a beer bottle at a car while outside of a bar. 

While those two brushes with the law weren't good for Doherty and her already tarnished reputation, her next arrest apparently hit her the hardest. That's because in 2000, she spent several hours in jail after she was arrested for drunk driving. "It's probably one of the most humiliating, degrading experiences you can ever go through," she told People (via ABC News) adding, "It's affected my career; it's affected the way I look at myself."

Doherty went on to do community service where she picked up trash and warned teens about the dangers of drunk driving. While she expressed regret over her decision to drive after she had a few drinks that night, she denied that she ever had a drinking problem. She seemingly had been personally affected by alcoholism though. She told Us Weekly (via Digital Spy), "I accompanied my husband to AA meetings — actually, I forced him to go to one — but I've never actually gone for myself."

Shannen Doherty was dealt an unexpected blow in 2018 after her home burnt down in the Woosley Fires. The wildfire-ravaged areas of Southern California, destroying thousands of structures and killing three people. One of those structures was Doherty's Malibu home. While many of her personal possessions were presumably destroyed, what seemed to be worse for Doherty was that she lost a place that had so many special memories for her. She took to Instagram to post that it was where she had gotten married in 2011 and where she stayed after her father died. "It's the place I felt my dad with me. It's gone ... I'm devastated by all that's happening. My heart is ripped apart," she wrote.

Fortunately for Doherty though, she wasn't home at the time of the fires so she wasn't injured. Neither were her pets since her friends were able to evacuate them in time. In another post about the fires, she expressed her gratitude for that, writing, "I'm so grateful that the people I love are safe and my dogs and horse are safe." Doherty went on to thank the firefighters too and send prayers to those who did lose loved ones.

Doherty had to deal with the fallout from the blaze for a while, however, since she publicly battled her insurance company, State Farm, when they wouldn't fund the repairs to her home. In 2021, she was finally awarded over $6.3 million in damages after taking them to court.

It's no secret that Shannen Doherty has been unlucky in love, having had two failed engagements and three marriages that ended in divorce. The "Defunct" actor first got engaged in 1991 when she was just 20 years old to real estate manager Chris Foufas. That didn't last long considering that by 1993 she accepted a proposal from Max Factor heir, Dean Jay Factor, which as previously mentioned, didn't end well either. Just months later, she finally got married for the first time, to actor Ashley Hamilton. Unfortunately, though, Doherty's curse continued, and by 1994, they were divorced.

Doherty's next husband probably sounds familiar because in 2002, she wed Rick Salomon, who became infamous for his 2004 sex tape with Paris Hilton. While Doherty had their marriage annulled before that, she told The Chicago Tribune, "It ended up being very embarrassing for me." Doherty later revealed to Parade that she was well aware that she had bad taste in men. "It's like, 'Why did I pick these men?' I guess it was about what I thought I could do to help them," she explained.

By 2011 though, it seemed like Doherty finally found her happy ending when she married photographer, Kurt Iswarienko. Doherty gushed about how he had been there for her during her cancer battle, which is why it was shocking when she announced in April 2023 that they split. She even suggested it was because he cheated, by saying through her publicist that his agent was "intimately involved."

Shannen Doherty was hit with another blow when her breast cancer came back at Stage 4. She announced its recurrence on "Good Morning America" in February 2020, saying, "It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways." While Doherty admitted that she wondered why it had happened to her, she claimed that she would carry on fighting and continue to receive treatment.

Doherty had initially kept her Stage 4 cancer diagnosis a secret though, so she could stay working because acting had brought her comfort. Yet, she decided to share the news before it was mentioned in a public lawsuit that she was engaged in at the time. It seems it was not only important for Doherty to share her journey in her own words, but to also educate others about the disease. She explained at a virtual panel, per People, "I feel like I have a responsibility in my more public life ... to talk about cancer and ... let people know that people with stage 4 are very much alive and very active."

Since her announcement in 2020 about her cancer, Doherty kept her fans updated on her cancer battle on social media, even sharing her symptoms and side effects of her treatment. She also wrote on Instagram that she's improved her outlook by finding humor in difficult situations.

In November 2023, Doherty shared devastating news about her breast cancer. In an exclusive interview with People, Doherty announced that her cancer had spread to her bones. "I don't want to die," Doherty told the magazine. "I'm not done with living. I'm not done with loving. I'm not done with creating. I'm not done with hopefully changing things for the better."

While the health announcement was certainly not welcome news, this occurrence is more common than you might think. In fact, according to Susan G. Komen, about half of people with breast cancer who have metastasis experience it in the bones first. It may be one of many, or the only site of metastases seen in this type of cancer. Bone metastasis can also increase the risk of pain, bone fractures, and reduced mobility.

So far though, this diagnosis hasn't stopped Doherty from trying to make a difference. She even launched a new podcast called "Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty" in December 2023. "I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you're just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed," she told People about her cancer status and how it has changed her outlook on life. "We're the people who want to work the most, because we're just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here."